


Jensen Buys The Impala

by musicforlife101



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Borrowing narration from Chuck, Exactly What It Says on the Tin, Future Fic, Impala Feels, M/M, Mutual Pining, Noodle Incidents, Post-Series, Requited Pining, Road Trips, The crew know what's up, Winchester Feels, abuse of parentheses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-11
Updated: 2014-08-11
Packaged: 2018-02-12 10:46:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2106855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicforlife101/pseuds/musicforlife101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A few years down the line, Supernatural is coming to a close and, rather than fly back to LA and leave the beloved car, Jensen buys the Impala from the studio. This sparks a set of occurrences, reminiscences, and decisions that lead to a Jensen-and-Jared road trip and a brand new beginning.</p>
<p>A future fic, told in a non-AU-ish way.<br/>Also, wives are not mentioned, assume whatever off-screen scenario for that you desire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jensen Buys The Impala

**Author's Note:**

> This came to me one day, after watching the video from Comic-Con where they talk about Cas maybe driving the Impala and how proprietary Jensen is over it. My first thought was that he would probably buy the car from the studio when the show ends. And that led to this.

_On April 21, 1967, the 100 millionth GM vehicle rolled off the line at the plant in Janesville -- a blue two-door Caprice._

_There was a big ceremony, speeches. The lieutenant governor even showed up. Three days later, another car rolled off that same line. No one gave two craps about her. But they should have, because this 1967 Chevrolet Impala would turn out to be the most important car -- no, the most important object -- in pretty much the whole universe._

_…I guess that's where this story begins._

 

Of course, it doesn’t really begin there. Because it didn’t really happen like that, at least that anyone knows, but I imagine it wasn’t terribly different. This particular 1967 Chevrolet Impala was nothing important until March of 2005 when it came to be part of the (sometimes surprisingly) long-running cult hit show _Supernatural_. Despite having a few extra Impalas lying around for the odd crash scene, the big old car is treated incredibly well. Possibly because of the shoestring budget. Or Dean Winchester’s disproportionate affection for the car. And increasingly because of Jensen Ackles’s disproportionate affection for the car.

 It’s been said more than a time or two (and even occasionally in front of fans) that Jensen is as proprietary over the car as his character is. He flat out refuses to let Misha drive it (being all spastic and such, he’d probably run over a bunny and then drive it up a tree). He’s about as good-natured about letting Jared behind the wheel as Dean is with Sam. His co-star is only ever allowed to drive it when the scene requires it, and even then Jensen grumbles (and Jared laughs at him, but that’s slightly beside the point). Jensen’s said that he’s even uncomfortable with the teamsters driving the Impala to set. He’d rather do it himself.

 The Impala is more than a car to Dean Winchester. And it’s not just character bleed that makes it more than a car to Jensen Ackles.

 

_The Impala, of course, has all the things other cars have... and a few things they don't. But none of that stuff's important. This is the stuff that's important. The army man that Sam crammed in the ashtray - it's still stuck there. The Legos that Dean shoved into the vents -- to this day, heat comes on and they can hear 'em rattle. These are the things that make the car theirs -- really theirs. Even when Dean rebuilt her from the ground up, he made sure all these little things stayed, 'cause it's the blemishes that make her beautiful._

 

The Impala Jensen drives around on set every day sadly doesn’t have those same stories (and maybe Jensen is very glad that Legos don’t rattle when they turn the heat on), but it has its own for Jensen and Jared. Lunch breaks spent in there, just watching the crew walk past them. Long days spent telling stupid jokes between set ups. The late, cold day on location when they took a nap in the front seat and Jensen woke up to Jared’s face pillowed on his thigh, hair spilling everywhere, and drooling slightly on Dean’s jeans. Instead of waking his friend, he slid his fingers into Jared’s long hair and went back to sleep. The next time he woke up, to Jared’s bright eyes and smile, something was different between them. And it filled Jensen with a warmth he didn’t name – until a lunch break in the car quite some time later.

That car is the backdrop of many a good memory for Jensen.

And while it doesn’t have the same stories of the Winchesters embedded in it, one thing it does have is the initials of Sam and Dean Winchester carved into it, which seems fitting to Jensen.

“Hey, Jared,” Jensen calls, peering his head around the edge of a trailer to get his co-star’s attention. He smiles when he sees his best friend (can’t help it really). He’s sitting in a chair with a script in one hand and a bag of candy in the other, hair flopping stupidly around his face.

Jared’s head pops up, long hair falling all over. “Yeah, what’s up dude?” Jared is smiling, too. How can he not with the sunlight filtering through Jensen’s hair and his green eyes all bright and excited about something?

“C’mere,” Jensen replies, gesturing with one hand, warm smile on his lips.

 

They’re filming for the last episode, their very last finale, and he has something planned. Jared unfolds himself from his chair and gets up to follow the man who has become more than his best friend in the last decade and change. He’s maybe spent years (since that day in the front seat of the Impala) wondering if Jensen’s lips are as soft as they look, and pondering what his freckles would taste like, and killing himself with cold showers back when they lived together in Vancouver. And maybe Jensen has thought about it too, overthought it really, thought it to death and decided (in his characteristic cautiousness) that considering it while they still work together is a recipe for disaster. Now that their time on _Supernatural_ is coming to an end, the dam in his mind holding all those thoughts and feelings back is breaking apart. And maybe, just maybe, he’s getting a little sentimental for the casual intimacy of working so closely with the person who knows him best. Maybe he’s not ready for it to end. So maybe he’s doling out the only gestures he knows how, because Jared is the one who word vomits all over the place whenever he thinks anything even mildly troubling. Sometimes, Jensen wishes he could just tell Jared, but he’s better at showing.

 

When Jensen leads him toward the Impala, Jared isn’t even surprised. When he opens the door to the backseat, though, an eyebrow climbs toward Jared’s hairline.

“What are we doing in the back of the Impala?”

“You’ll see, get in.” Jared does. It’s a squeeze, getting two very large men in the backseat of a car, even if that car is absolutely enormous itself. Once they’re settled, Jensen lifts the floor mat on Jared’s side, revealing the _S.W._ and _D.W._ that are carved there. “I figure it’s as much our car as it is theirs.” He pulls up the corner of the carpet on his side and pulls a pocket knife out of Dean’s jeans. “Wanna go first?” The smile on his face is as blinding as it is bittersweet. Jared’s watery grin is all the answer he needs, and the younger man takes the knife and begins etching _J.P._ into the footwell. His friend’s green eyes are trained on him, not their casual vandalism, the whole time. When he’s finished, he passes the knife to Jensen and holds the carpet up. With his brow slightly furrowed in effort, Jensen carves _J.A._ into the floor right beside his best friend’s. Jared doesn’t know where to look. When they’re both done, Jensen puts the knife back in his pocket and they sit back, content for the moment.

 

You see, the Impala has all the things most cars do and even the set stories are a lot like the ones other cars have, but it’s the differences that make it special. There are sides from Jensen’s favourite scenes folded up in the glove compartment. And there’s a simple Sharpie drawing of Rocky and Bullwinkle on the seat, where his right knee normally is, that Jared did in between set ups because someone had called them Moose and Squirrel that day. There is still a Devil’s Trap painted on the inside of the trunk lid (and Jensen kind of likes it). He’s pretty sure Misha drew a dick on the inside of one of the ashtrays in the back. He hasn’t bothered to check, but it makes him smile. It’s not just the memories that happened there, but the bits and pieces etched onto the car that remind them of those times.

 

“I can’t fly back to LA with you,” Jensen says, knowing Jared will pout even before the words are out of his mouth.

There is sad surprise all of the younger man’s face. “What? Why not?” And there’s the pout.

Jensen lets just one side of his lips quirk up. “I’m buying the Impala from the studio, so I have to drive it back.” There’s a moment of complete silence, Jared’s pout melting into neutrality. Then he bursts out laughing.

“Oh, God. I should’ve known you’d buy the damn car when we ended!” he says as soon as he gets enough breath back. Jensen’s full on grinning now.

 

They don’t talk about it again until the wrap party. Because some things are easier with alcohol.

They’re standing around, holding beers and laughing at some joke one of the grips is telling, when Jared takes Jensen’s arm and pulls him away from the group, his big gappy smile keeping anyone from being too insulted. Not that they are. Nor are they surprised. Honestly, Jared and Jensen haven’t left each other’s sides all night and no one thinks more of it than it is (which is, of course, a great deal more than anyone _says_ it is).

“So, I’ve been thinking,” Jared begins, face set to nonchalant, and Jensen hates that he can tell how false that casual expression is. Or maybe he hates that it _is_ false, but loves that he can tell. It’s all twisted around in his head and he’s had one too many beers to sort through that mess tonight.

“Oh, is that what that smell is?” Jensen teases. Jared rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling, so Jensen’s achieved his goal.

“Shuddup.” He fidgets with the hem of his shirt for a moment. “I was thinking that maybe I don’t want to fly back to LA alone and maybe I don’t want you to drive back alone. So, maybe I could drive with you, if you want some company?” That isn’t at all what Jensen was expecting. He stares at Jared for maybe a little too long. “Jen? I can just fly and we’ll hang out whenever, or whatever, I mean, it’s not like you need me to come with you or anything. I just thought that, yeah, we’re in the Impala all the time, but we never really go anywhere, and it would be fun to have like a guys’ road trip at the end of the show.” Long before Jared gets to the end of his ramble, Jensen is smiling at him.

“I’d like that, Jay, I’d love for you to come with me.” Jared’s face lights up like a Christmas tree and he practically jumps on his best friend, hugging him so hard and so tight that Jensen feels like he might topple them both over. “Get off, you big lug,” Jensen says after entirely too long being mauled by Jared’s hug. The taller man is laughing by the time he lets go. If they stand there for a moment too long, just smiling at each other, after Jared is upright again, Jensen blames the alcohol. Drunk people do weird shit. Like stare at people.

 

Three days later, a very loud, old, black Chevy pulls up outside of Jared’s apartment building. A little old woman walking into the building scowls at the volume, but says nothing. Thirty seconds after the door closes behind her, it bangs open again and an overenthusiastic moose with too much hair bounds down the steps with a duffel and a backpack. Clutched in one big hand is a brown paper package. When he sees Jensen, wearing Dean’s ripped jeans and his own green t-shirt, leaning up against the side of the car, he grins so wide his face can’t seem to contain it (which is quite a feat given the general proportions of a 6’4” man). Jensen’s grin grows to match. Dropping the duffel at his feet, Jared wraps Jensen in an enormous hug.

“This is gonna be so much fun, man,” he says into the side of Jensen’s head, lips just brushing the shell of his ear.

Jensen is glad Jared can’t see the flush creeping up his fair skin as he turns into his friend’s neck and says, “Yeah, it is.”

“So I got you a present,” Jared says, the second they separate, and thrusts the package at Jensen. His friend takes it gingerly. This is Jared, it could be anything. Not pranking each other on set aside, they actually enjoy getting gag gifts for each other in addition to real ones. “It just feels like the end of an era, you know, so I was trying to find something you would get your best friend at the end of an era, but that also says, ‘I still want to see you all the time’. But then you told me that you bought the Impala and I just thought this would be a perfect car-warming present and then I was hoping I could come with you and then we’d both get to enjoy it and – just open it.” Jensen is smiling at Jared as he finishes his ramble with a small huff. He manages to get most of the wrapping open before looking away from his friend. When it finally comes away in his hand, he sees a cassette adapter to play an iPod through the tape player in the car. Yeah, pretty much perfect.

“Dude, this is awesome,” he says. Not loud, or over the top, but firmly. Jared knows how much he means it. “And you know, just because it’s the end of an era doesn’t mean it’s the end for us. I saddled myself with you for good years ago. You’re not getting rid of me.” Jared smiles another of his enormous, blinding grins and wraps Jensen in a hug again, making his friend huff and grumble in token protest (after entirely too long to mean it, but no one is there to call him on it). They both know he doesn’t want this to end any more than Jared does.

 

_Any chapped-ass monkey with a keyboard can poop out a beginning, but endings are impossible. You try to tie up every loose end, but you never can. The fans are always gonna bitch. There's always gonna be holes. And since it's the ending, it's all supposed to add up to something. I'm telling you, they're a raging pain in the ass._

 

And yeah, they managed an ending for Sam and Dean. A damn good one, if you ask either actor. They’ll both tell you things are as they should be for the Winchesters. But what about an ending for Jared and Jensen?

 

Endings are hard, especially in the real world. What do you do when a whole book of your life comes to a close? Do you just go home and clean the bathroom?

 

An hour outside of Vancouver, Jared sitting on the passenger side with a map spread across his thighs, and Jensen driving as usual, they are peaceful and humming along to Jensen’s iPod.

“Do we have time for a detour to Yellowstone? I’ve never been,” Jared asks.

Jensen smiles, all soft edges and crinkling eyes. “Sure, Jared. We can go anywhere you want.”

 

_But then again... nothing ever really ends, does it?_

 

By the time they reach Los Angeles, a full three weeks later than planned (Jared wanted to see Mount Rushmore, and they stopped to see their families, and then Jared wanted to go to Roswell, and who is Jensen to deny Jared anything? Much less alien jerky?), there is a new mark on the Impala. On the underside of the seat, where anyone sitting on the passenger side would see if they looked between their knees, are two words in Sharpie. _Jared’s Spot_.

 

Every ending is just another beginning, isn’t it?

 

In March of 2005, a black 1967 Chevrolet Impala became part of the cult hit show _Supernatural_. Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki started filming at much the same time. Though no one (with the possible exception of Jared, who insists it was the moment they met) can pinpoint exactly when, they became best friends through filming that first episode. At first, a friendship between co-stars was a preferable, but not preternaturally uncommon, situation. There were no speeches given or credit taken for pairing them up so well. Like the Impala, no one knew how important this friendship would be until much later.

Well, Jensen might have suspected, but he kept that thought firmly locked away for the sake of his job and his friendship.

Sometime through the years, the Impala became the stage for the forging of more than a friendship. Jensen realized he was falling in love with his co-star (in a brief moment of stunning clarity over a chicken salad sandwich) in the front seat of the same car that he bought and drove them around the Western United States with many years later. None of the showrunners know this, but I think it would make them smile.

 

This is where that story ends.

 

The Impala pulls up outside Jared’s LA home.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asks Jensen, grabbing his bag from the backseat.

“I’ll be here.” His smile is big and he moves to grab Jared in a hug as big and tight as the ones Jared always gives him. When he pulls away, Jared steadies himself and follows, pecking Jensen on the lips. They’re softer than he’d imagined, even chapped as they are from the late spring heat.

“Night, Jensen.”

“G’night, Jared,” he replies, finger idly touching his lips as he watches his best friend saunter up the front steps and then wave from the open door. He waves back, and when the door closes, he speeds off into the night.

 

And I guess that’s where the new story begins…

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction and should be treated as such. The real people in this story are viewed as characters, and I do not claim any special knowledge of them or any money from this.


End file.
